The government of Rwanda aims to transform the country from an agricultural based to an
industry and services based economy by 2020. Entrepreneurship stimulation in rural areas is
one of the major objectives for the creation of employment in the non-agricultural sector. The
literature shows that local economic development can be enhanced through the support of new
entrepreneurs by providing infrastructure. Regional service centres are a product of the
Rwandan government’s efforts to stimulate rural development through the delivery of services
in some particular rural settlements. This thesis offers a characterization of three regional
service centres in Rwanda with respect to service delivery after one and a half decade of
implementation. A high diversity of services is available in the centres but these are not in all
cases universally accessible. Above all, finance and loans are inaccessible to many because
people lack collateral. Despite the lack of finance, entrepreneurs in the centres state that the
availability of different services was a prerequisite for them to start an enterprise. Instruments
for further development of enterprises are missing as entrepreneurs lack finance, are heavily
taxed and appear to have very limited influence on policy.